Tuesday, February 05, 2008

This movie is super-duper cute. "Cute" gets a bad rap, I think; to me, it means endearing, appealing, and engaging. Chashme Buddoor is all those things without being gooey, and it's chilled out (like its lazy-day-loving trio of friends) without being dull. It's nicely paced and funny with likable, well-acted characters who indulge their imaginations and hopes in non-ridiculous ways. It has a good plot about friends, which I always like. Its filminess is winking and welcoming. "C'mon," it says, "you know you've always wanted to make up a rhyming love song with your crush while lying in the sunshine in the park." (That's not just me, right?) It feels so real. There's a nice writeup over at Alternate Movies, who rightly points out that a significant part of this movie's appeal is that the events and people are relatable - life is full of funny moments that don't need to be exaggerated or amplified to make us laugh.

Chashme Buddoor is so simply good - uncomplicated and fun - that just maybe the above comments will suffice. Instead, pictures! So cute! So charming! Cho chweet!Farooq Shaikh, Rakesh Bedi, and Ravi Baswani are all great.From the fab song of the three friends, "Pyaar Lagwat."Ah, university.Imagining life as a film. And Deepti Naval is of course great too.Falling in fragrant, foamy lurve over a box of soap.

If anyone can point me to another great Sai Paranjape film, say the word. Many thanks to Filmi Geek for loaning me this one!

Hey Beth, glad you liked "Chasme Buddoor". I love that movie. I was also gonna suggest "Katha". Here's the link to the review http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2007/01/sai-paranjpes-katha-tortoise-therapy.html by another fav blogger.

And also if you enjoy these kind of movies, you muct watch Hrishikesh Mukherjee's movies. Try and get "Golmaal" if you can. Amol Palekar plays the lead. There is another Golmaal with Ajay Devgan in the lead. Do not watch that by mistake. :-)

CB also happens to have one of the best lines about smoking that I've ever heard. I don't smoke, but I can see how a smoker would imagine that, if some special were to tell him, "You smoke way too much! Why don't you quit?", he would kick the habit right away :-)

Oh my goodness! I absolutely adorrrre Chashme Baddoor!. I think I'd pretty much watch anything Dipti Naval did/does though. :) She is so adorable as Ms Chamko- and that song "Bole re" is so so good. I am just sorry that Vivek Vaswani never did too many movies...

Katha is great of course, but if you havent, you have GOT to watch Sparsh- it is super wow amazing- bearable pathos, but I cried buckets.

Sadly Sai Paranjape doesn't get enough funding to produce her films. She is a brilliant director with a special space in her heart for children's films.

Get a copy of her recent film "Pak Pak Pakaak" which is about a young school-going kid and a ghost in the village. It also stars the brilliant Nana Patekar. This movie is in "Marathi" so you would need subtitles anyway.

Just wanted to mention that there is a scene in which Farooq tries to pick up Deepti at a bus stop on his black motorcycle and the song "Kalighodi dwaar khadi" is playing. And since this was such a cool reference - calling a ride a black horse (or mare if you'll have it), that I've always bought black cars and called them all Kalighodi.

Banno - I love Chupke Chupke :) It's ever so cute and funny - and it made me fall head over teakettle for Sharmila!http://bethlovesbollywood.blogspot.com/2005/12/wacky-misunderstandings-commentary-on.html

I was all prepared to suggest KATHA to you, but then I saw a lot of people have already recommended the same :). And yes, you just HAVE to watch 'Sparsh'! I dont know if you've heard of her, but there is another lady director named Vijaya Mehta. I loved her 'Pestonjee'. It is about a stingy person, full of idiosyncrasies and his friend, played by Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. Let me know if you have seen it and how you liked it....

Debashri - I am so sorry for the delay in responding toy our comment! Somehow it slipped through my email cracks. Thank you for the recommendations! I don't know of Vijaya Mehta - but interestingly I've just rented Kalyug.

ligne - I looooved Chupke Cupke and Guddi. Thanks for the other recommendations! PS Are you really in Champaign too? :)

i still remember one scene from "katha" where naseer waits for the bus ,but when he heard a girl need blood of AB POSITIVE he hires a taxi and runs to the hospital because his blood group is the same and it's a rare one. i can never forget that scene.

ligne - Sorry this reply is so later! They haven't played any Hindi films at Boardman since last March, but someone is showing them occasionally in Bloomington-Normal and Leroy - so at least they are within an hour drive!

my other filmi projects

Bong Along - a blog on vintage Bengali movies co-written by Indie Quill and me (and perhaps a few very friendly appearances by other friends as well).

Masala Zindabad - the podcast by Indie Quill and me, often featuring other writers and fans as guests. Masala Zindabad is an affectionate and thoughtful look at the broad range of themes that define Bollywood and make Bollywood defy definition. Available at iTunes.

Mysterious Order of the Skeleton Suit - the Agents of M.O.S.S. are a shadowy confederation of like-minded writers, broadcasters, creators, and jetsetters who have banded together in a bold mission to bring international intrigue and pop entertainment to the masses. Can anyone stand in the way of their diabolical schemes?

pragmatics

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